No. 3 Ohio State Edges No. 8 Harvard-Radcliffe Heavyweight Crew

The varsity four 'A' is pictured against Yale and Northeastern April 27 (photo Harvard Athletic Communications).

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Harvard-Radcliffe heavyweight crew started Saturday with a win over Ohio State in the first novice/third varsity race, but the Buckeyes won the remaining three races over the Black and White. Ohio State's wins included a 3.69-second victory in the first varsity race.

The competitions were raced at Griggs Reservoir with a gusting, stiff headwind that increased throughout the morning.

"I thought our 1V did a terrific job," said head coach Liz O'Leary. "It was a strong headwind and they did a great job challenging Ohio State, which is a very competitive and deep team."

The first varsity was the final race and best of the day, as Harvard-Radcliffe and Ohio State both held two-seat leads at some point. Radcliffe's two-seat advantage came at the 750-meter mark, but the middle 1,000 meters were raced even and Ohio State began to take its lead. Ohio State surged ahead and grabbed a two-seat lead of its own after the 1,500-meter line. The Buckeyes held off a slight move by Radcliffe to come back in the last 500 meters to win in 6:53.29. Radcliffe was across at 6:56.98.

After the novice boat won by 7.53 seconds in the opening race, Radcliffe's varsity four took to the water and was leading three Ohio State boats after 500 meters. The Black and White fell to second by the 1,000-meter mark and was passed by the other two Buckeye boats in the second half of the race. Radcliffe nearly came in third, but Ohio State's 'B' boat beat the Black and White by 2.07 seconds.

Ohio State also won the second varsity race with open water. The Buckeyes 2V, the top-ranked second varsity, gained open water after the midway point in the race and continued to build its advantage.

Harvard-Radcliffe will take next weekend off before traveling to Camden, N.J., for the Ivy League Championships May 19.